Welcome to the Composers’ Page. This is where you can find different composers that were born in each month of the year. Each year, there will be a special composer associated with the KITS program.
Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart:
Birthday: January 27, 1756 Died: December 5, 1791 Period: Classical Country: Austria Known for: Many masterpieces, including operas, symphonies, string quartets, and piano music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, but his family called him Wolferl. He started to compose music when he was five. By the age of six, he was so talented as a pianist and violinist that his father took him with his sister, Nannerl, on tour through Europe where he entertained kings and queens. As an adult he lived in Vienna where he composed, taught, and performed. Mozart loved the piano and wrote over 17 piano sonatas and 27 piano concertos along with chamber music. His music is high-spirited and has rich harmonies. Mozart loved to entertain with tricks such as naming a note played on any instrument without seeing it. He also loved mathematics, animals, playing pool, and the color red. Unfortunately, Mozart was never very healthy, didn’t eat well, or get much sleep or exercise. Sadly, this musical genius died when he was just 35 years old. Mozart was very popular as a child, but not so much as an adult. Years after his death, his music was “rediscovered” by audiences and has been enjoyed ever since.
Some of Mozart’s Pieces: The Magic Flute Eine Kleine Nachmusik (A Little Night Music) Piano Concerto no. 21
Birthday: February 8, 1932 Period: Contemporary, with a Neo-Romantic style Country: United States of America Known for: Award-winning movie scores, conducting the Boston Pops, composing the Olympic Fanfare
John Williams was born in New York and later moved to California with his family. His father was a jazz musician, and John loved music even as a little boy. He learned to play the guitar, piano, trombone, trumpet and clarinet. After serving in the Air Force, John returned to New York to study piano at Julliard. Williams has received many awards for his symphonic musical scores for movies and television. He was also a conductor of the Boston Pops. His music often expresses strong feelings and borrows melodies and rhythms from hymns and folk tunes. In 2009, he was awarded the National Medal of Art at the White House.
Some of Williams’ Pieces: Scores for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Superman; various concertos
Birthday: March 1,1810 Died: October 17,1849 Period: Romantic Country: Poland Known for: Solo Piano Music including: ballades, berceuses (lullabies), etudes, mazurkas, nocturnes, polonaises, waltzes
Frederic Chopin’s mother taught him to play the piano at age six and by seven, his first piece, a Polonaise (folk dance), was published. As a teen, he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory. Later, he moved to Paris where he composed, performed, and taught piano lessons. His music is complex and breaks many of the rules of formal classical music. It is very dramatic, personal, and full of emotion. He often used Polish folk music in his compositions. Chopin is considered one of the most important pianists and composers of the Romantic Era.
Some of Chopin’s Pieces: Fantasie Impromptu Op. 66 Ballade No. 1 in G minor Polonaise in A, Op. 40 ‘Military’
Birthday: April 23, 1891 Died: March 5, 1953 Period: Contemporary Country: born in Russia (now Ukraine) Known for: ballets, operas, symphonies, movie music, and concertos
Sergei Prokofiev (Sir-gayPro-cough-ee-ev)began studying piano with his mother at the age of three. By the age of nine, he had written his first opera, The Giant. At thirteen, he entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory where he studied with the famous composer, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Prokofiev composed music that used dynamic rhythms, dissonant harmonies, and some humor. At first, neither Russian nor American audiences appreciated his work. He found more success in Paris where he composed ballet and opera music. Later, he returned to Russia where he composed and conducted music that is still known for his outstanding use of the orchestra and his love of Russian culture. Today, he is considered one of the most important composers of that time.
Some of Prokofiev’s Pieces: Peter and the Wolf Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella (ballets) Concerto in G minor Op.63 no. 2
Birthday: May 7, 1833 Died: April 3, 1897 Period: Romantic Country: Germany Nationalistic Composer: Yes
Johannes Brahms was born on May 7, 1833 in the town of Hamburg, Germany. Brahms started lessons when he was 6 and by the time he was 13, he was taking composition classes. By 17, he met Eduard Remenyi and after traveling Germany with him, he was able to use new techniques in his compositions. Brahms was great friends with the Schumanns. They inspired him to compose.
Some of Brahms’s Works: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major Symphony No. 1 in C Minor Symphony No. 3 in F Major (3rd Movement) A German Requiem Violin Concerto in D Major Hungarian Dances
Birthday: June 8, 1810 Died: July 29, 1856 Period: Romantic Country: Germany Nationalistic Composer: Yes
Robert Schumann was born in Zwickau, Germany. His parents wanted him to be a lawyer, but he wanted to study music. He finally took lessons from Friedrich Wieck and later married Wieck’s daughter, Clara. Schumann composed symphonies, chamber music, and beautiful love songs. He was most admired for his emotional piano music with its unexpected sounds and harmonies. Schumann started a music magazine and was actually more famous as a music critic than as a composer and performer.
Some of Schumann’s Works: Scenes from Childhood Fantasy Pieces Carnaval Album for the Young
Birthday: July 4, 1826 Died: January 13, 1864 Country: USA Cause: Against Slavery Honor: Father of American Music
Stephen Foster was born on the Fourth of July near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a young boy, he spent time writing poems and jotting down melodies. Stephen was educated in private schools, served as an apprentice engineer, and worked as a bookkeeper in his brother’s business. However, he loved writing poetry and music more than working in the business world. His first successful song, Oh! Susanna, sold 100,000 copies and became the theme song of the California Gold Rush. Foster was opposed to slavery and made special efforts to write tasteful songs for the minstrel shows that were popular at the time. He later moved to New York City where he experienced poverty and illness. Sadly, he died at the age of 37. Much of his work was published after his death and remains popular today. Stephen Foster was the first musician to be elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans.
Some of Foster’s Songs: Camptown Races Old Folks at Home I Dream of Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair My Old Kentucky Home The Old Folks at Home
Birthday: August 25th, 1918 Died: October 14, 1990 Country: USA Period: Contemporary Claim to Fame: TV Broadcasts
Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and began studying piano at the age of 10. He graduated from Harvard and then studied piano, composition, and conducting at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Early in his career as a conductor, he began his Young People’s Concerts on television in primetime and these continued for 14 seasons. He loved to teach and engage his audiences with silly songs that explained musical ideas. During his career, Bernstein composed symphonic music, a Mass, jazz, and music for Broadway shows, operas, ballets, and films. His love of New York City and all the different groups of people who live there is reflected in his music. As the years passed, he gained recognition throughout the world for his many talents and for his musical skill as a pianist. His enthusiasm inspired many of today’s musicians and conductors.
Some of Berstein's Songs: West Side Story “Peter Pan” “The Lark” Piano Trio So Pretty 7 Symphonies (piano work)
Birthday: September 13, 1819 Died: May 20, 1896 Period: Romantic Country: Germany Nationalistic Composer: Yes
Clara was born in Leipzig, Germany and began taking piano lessons from her father at the age of five. She also had to study violin, voice, and theory. By the age of 13, she was considered a child prodigy who went on tour, entertaining her audiences as the first pianist to play concerts entirely from memory. As a teenager, she fell in love with her father’s student, Robert. They married without her father’s approval as she turned 21. Clara composed only 23 piano works because she dedicated herself to her eight children and Robert, who was quite ill. Clara taught piano and gave many concerts throughout Europe that promoted other musicians work. Her close friends were Brahms, Liszt, Wagner, and Mendelssohn. After her husband’s death at only 37, Clara moved to the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, where she was a principal teacher for years. She is remembered for her efforts to improve the technique and expression of her students.
Some of Clara’s Pieces: Piano Trio in G Minor Op. 17 Four Polonaises For Piano Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 7
Birthday: October 25, 1825 Died: June 3, 1899 Period: Romantic Country: Austria Known for: Waltzes
JOHANN STRAUSS II was born in Vienna, Austria. Although his father and brothers were composers, his father wanted him to become a banker. However, Johann secretly took violin lessons from the first violinist in his father’s orchestra! Around age 17, he started to study music seriously and founded a small orchestra that toured throughout Europe. His fame as a composer and conductor grew. In 1872, he served as the lead conductor of a Boston Festival “monster concert,” in which over 1000 musicians played. Strauss composed waltzes, polkas, marches, and operettas. He is best known for his waltzes because he took a simple folk dance and turned it into an elegant entertainment for royalty. He composed waltzes for forty years and is remembered throughout the world as “The Waltz King.”
Some of Strauss’s Pieces: The Blue Danube Waltz from Die Fledermaus Radetsky March
Birthday: November 14, 1900 Died: December 2, 1990 Period: Contemporary Country: United States of America Known for: American Music
Aaron Copland, a composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher, grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He began his formal study of piano at thirteen and published his first piano solo, “Cat and Mouse,” at twenty-one. Copland wrote orchestral pieces, award-winning movie scores, symphonies, and chamber music. Igor Stravinsky strongly influenced him as a composer of ballet music. Copland believed that composers should respond creatively to changes in their society. He did that especially well by using rhythms and melodies from hymns, folk tunes, jazz, blues, and popular music to create a strong “American Sound.”
Some of Copland’s Pieces: Fanfare for the Common Man Rodeo Appalachian Spring
Birthday: December 16, 1770 Died: March 26, 1827 Period: Classical Country: Germany Known for: Musical Innovation
Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany and began to study piano at four years of age. As a teen, he worked as an organist and played viola and piano in an orchestra. He became popular as both a pianist and a composer. In his 20’s, Beethoven began to lose his hearing but that did not stop him from composing. He wrote down the melodies that he heard inside himself and composed some of his most beautiful music when he could no longer hear at all. His compositions are usually grouped into three periods. His first pieces were very much like Classical music. The next pieces were longer and more emotional, breaking some of the Classical rules. His last pieces were dramatic with amazing mood changes that inspired the Romantic composers who followed him. Beethoven wrote 32 piano sonatas, five piano concertos, nine symphonies, chamber music, and pieces for other instruments. He even wrote some simpler pieces for young piano students. Beethoven was hard working, eccentric, and moody. His confidence, however, enabled him to create new musical forms that remain important today. Ludwig was also interested in equal rights for all people. For his famous Symphony No.9, he used a poem by Schiller called “Ode to Joy,” that suggests that all men should be brothers with equal freedoms. Today, people around the world consider him to be one of the musical giants of all time.
Some of Beethoven’s Pieces: Symphony No. 9 Symphony No. 5 Piano Sonata No. 14
Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart:
Birthday: January 27, 1756
Died: December 5, 1791
Period: Classical
Country: Austria
Known for: Many masterpieces, including operas, symphonies, string quartets, and piano music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, but his family called him Wolferl. He started to compose music when he was five. By the age of six, he was so talented as a pianist and violinist that his father took him with his sister, Nannerl, on tour through Europe where he entertained kings and queens. As an adult he lived in Vienna where he composed, taught, and performed. Mozart loved the piano and wrote over 17 piano sonatas and 27 piano concertos along with chamber music. His music is high-spirited and has rich harmonies.
Mozart loved to entertain with tricks such as naming a note played on any instrument without seeing it. He also loved mathematics, animals, playing pool, and the color red.
Unfortunately, Mozart was never very healthy, didn’t eat well, or get much sleep or exercise. Sadly, this musical genius died when he was just 35 years old. Mozart was very popular as a child, but not so much as an adult. Years after his death, his music was “rediscovered” by audiences and has been enjoyed ever since.
Some of Mozart’s Pieces:
The Magic Flute
Eine Kleine Nachmusik (A Little Night Music)
Piano Concerto no. 21
Listening Activity: BBC animated production of The Magic Flute
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7Wp3p3did4
John Williams
Birthday: February 8, 1932
Period: Contemporary, with a Neo-Romantic style
Country: United States of America
Known for: Award-winning movie scores, conducting the Boston Pops, composing the Olympic Fanfare
John Williams was born in New York and later moved to California with his family. His father was a jazz musician, and John loved music even as a little boy. He learned to play the guitar, piano, trombone, trumpet and clarinet. After serving in the Air Force, John returned to New York to study piano at Julliard. Williams has received many awards for his symphonic musical scores for movies and television. He was also a conductor of the Boston Pops. His music often expresses strong feelings and borrows melodies and rhythms from hymns and folk tunes. In 2009, he was awarded the National Medal of Art at the White House.
Some of Williams’ Pieces:
Scores for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Superman; various concertos
Viewing Activity: About how Williams composed the theme for Jaws:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yh5Ezao8Ls
Frédéric Chopin
Birthday: March 1,1810
Died: October 17,1849
Period: Romantic
Country: Poland
Known for: Solo Piano Music including: ballades, berceuses (lullabies), etudes, mazurkas, nocturnes, polonaises, waltzes
Frederic Chopin’s mother taught him to play the piano at age six and by seven, his first piece, a Polonaise (folk dance), was published. As a teen, he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory. Later, he moved to Paris where he composed, performed, and taught piano lessons. His music is complex and breaks many of the rules of formal classical music. It is very dramatic, personal, and full of emotion. He often used Polish folk music in his compositions. Chopin is considered one of the most important pianists and composers of the Romantic Era.
Some of Chopin’s Pieces:
Fantasie Impromptu Op. 66
Ballade No. 1 in G minor
Polonaise in A, Op. 40 ‘Military’
Listening/viewing Activity:
Minute Waltz Op.64 no. 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y8t_yktPpc
Sergei Prokofiev
Birthday: April 23, 1891
Died: March 5, 1953
Period: Contemporary
Country: born in Russia (now Ukraine)
Known for: ballets, operas, symphonies, movie music, and concertos
Sergei Prokofiev (Sir-gayPro-cough-ee-ev)began studying piano with his mother at the age of three. By the age of nine, he had written his first opera, The Giant. At thirteen, he entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory where he studied with the famous composer, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Prokofiev composed music that used dynamic rhythms, dissonant harmonies, and some humor. At first, neither Russian nor American audiences appreciated his work. He found more success in Paris where he composed ballet and opera music. Later, he returned to Russia where he composed and conducted music that is still known for his outstanding use of the orchestra and his love of Russian culture. Today, he is considered one of the most important composers of that time.
Some of Prokofiev’s Pieces:
Peter and the Wolf
Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella (ballets)
Concerto in G minor Op.63 no. 2
Listening/Viewing Activity:
Disney 1946 Peter and the Wolf:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr25umYkxe4&feature+related
Johannes Brahms
Birthday: May 7, 1833
Died: April 3, 1897
Period: Romantic
Country: Germany
Nationalistic Composer: Yes
Johannes Brahms was born on May 7, 1833 in the town of Hamburg, Germany. Brahms started lessons when he was 6 and by the time he was 13, he was taking composition classes. By 17, he met Eduard Remenyi and after traveling Germany with him, he was able to use new techniques in his compositions. Brahms was great friends with the Schumanns. They inspired him to compose.
Some of Brahms’s Works:
Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major
Symphony No. 1 in C Minor
Symphony No. 3 in F Major (3rd Movement)
A German Requiem
Violin Concerto in D Major
Hungarian Dances
To see more of Brahms’s works, visit this link: http://www.classicalarchives.com/brahms.html
Robert Schumann
Birthday: June 8, 1810
Died: July 29, 1856
Period: Romantic
Country: Germany
Nationalistic Composer: Yes
Robert Schumann was born in Zwickau, Germany. His parents wanted him to be a lawyer, but he wanted to study music. He finally took lessons from Friedrich Wieck and later married Wieck’s daughter, Clara. Schumann composed symphonies, chamber music, and beautiful love songs. He was most admired for his emotional piano music with its unexpected sounds and harmonies. Schumann started a music magazine and was actually more famous as a music critic than as a composer and performer.
Some of Schumann’s Works:
Scenes from Childhood
Fantasy Pieces
Carnaval
Album for the Young
Listening Activity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuxspFxKrD0
Stephen Foster
Birthday: July 4, 1826
Died: January 13, 1864
Country: USA
Cause: Against Slavery
Honor: Father of American Music
Stephen Foster was born on the Fourth of July near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a young boy, he spent time writing poems and jotting down melodies. Stephen was educated in private schools, served as an apprentice engineer, and worked as a bookkeeper in his brother’s business. However, he loved writing poetry and music more than working in the business world. His first successful song, Oh! Susanna, sold 100,000 copies and became the theme song of the California Gold Rush. Foster was opposed to slavery and made special efforts to write tasteful songs for the minstrel shows that were popular at the time. He later moved to New York City where he experienced poverty and illness. Sadly, he died at the age of 37. Much of his work was published after his death and remains popular today. Stephen Foster was the first musician to be elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans.
Some of Foster’s Songs:
Camptown Races
Old Folks at Home
I Dream of Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair
My Old Kentucky Home
The Old Folks at Home
Listening Activity:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW8QidU20I8&feature=relmfu
Leonard Bernstein
Birthday: August 25th, 1918
Died: October 14, 1990
Country: USA
Period: Contemporary
Claim to Fame: TV Broadcasts
Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and began studying piano at the age of 10. He graduated from Harvard and then studied piano, composition, and conducting at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Early in his career as a conductor, he began his Young People’s Concerts on television in primetime and these continued for 14 seasons. He loved to teach and engage his audiences with silly songs that explained musical ideas. During his career, Bernstein composed symphonic music, a Mass, jazz, and music for Broadway shows, operas, ballets, and films. His love of New York City and all the different groups of people who live there is reflected in his music. As the years passed, he gained recognition throughout the world for his many talents and for his musical skill as a pianist. His enthusiasm inspired many of today’s musicians and conductors.
Some of Berstein's Songs:
West Side Story
“Peter Pan”
“The Lark”
Piano Trio
So Pretty
7 Symphonies (piano work)
Listening Activity:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra3zyMcTKX4
Clara Wieck Schumann
Birthday: September 13, 1819
Died: May 20, 1896
Period: Romantic
Country: Germany
Nationalistic Composer: Yes
Clara was born in Leipzig, Germany and began taking piano lessons from her father at the age of five. She also had to study violin, voice, and theory. By the age of 13, she was considered a child prodigy who went on tour, entertaining her audiences as the first pianist to play concerts entirely from memory. As a teenager, she fell in love with her father’s student, Robert. They married without her father’s approval as she turned 21. Clara composed only 23 piano works because she dedicated herself to her eight children and Robert, who was quite ill. Clara taught piano and gave many concerts throughout Europe that promoted other musicians work. Her close friends were Brahms, Liszt, Wagner, and Mendelssohn. After her husband’s death at only 37, Clara moved to the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, where she was a principal teacher for years. She is remembered for her efforts to improve the technique and expression of her students.
Some of Clara’s Pieces:
Piano Trio in G Minor Op. 17
Four Polonaises For Piano
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 7
Listening Activity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itLDT0Nx2WM
JOHANN STRAUSS II
Birthday: October 25, 1825
Died: June 3, 1899
Period: Romantic
Country: Austria
Known for: Waltzes
JOHANN STRAUSS II was born in Vienna, Austria. Although his father and brothers were composers, his father wanted him to become a banker. However, Johann secretly took violin lessons from the first violinist in his father’s orchestra! Around age 17, he started to study music seriously and founded a small orchestra that toured throughout Europe. His fame as a composer and conductor grew. In 1872, he served as the lead conductor of a Boston Festival “monster concert,” in which over 1000 musicians played.
Strauss composed waltzes, polkas, marches, and operettas. He is best known for his waltzes because he took a simple folk dance and turned it into an elegant entertainment for royalty. He composed waltzes for forty years and is remembered throughout the world as “The Waltz King.”
Some of Strauss’s Pieces:
The Blue Danube
Waltz from Die Fledermaus
Radetsky March
Listening Activity (And cartoon!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gx2CAhjX9s
Aaron Copland
Birthday: November 14, 1900
Died: December 2, 1990
Period: Contemporary
Country: United States of America
Known for: American Music
Aaron Copland, a composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher, grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He began his formal study of piano at thirteen and published his first piano solo, “Cat and Mouse,” at twenty-one. Copland wrote orchestral pieces, award-winning movie scores, symphonies, and chamber music. Igor Stravinsky strongly influenced him as a composer of ballet music. Copland believed that composers should respond creatively to changes in their society. He did that especially well by using rhythms and melodies from hymns, folk tunes, jazz, blues, and popular music to create a strong “American Sound.”
Some of Copland’s Pieces:
Fanfare for the Common Man
Rodeo
Appalachian Spring
Listening Activity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdWmAK1HFtg
Ludwig van Beethoven
Birthday: December 16, 1770
Died: March 26, 1827
Period: Classical
Country: Germany
Known for: Musical Innovation
Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany and began to study piano at four years of age. As a teen, he worked as an organist and played viola and piano in an orchestra. He became popular as both a pianist and a composer. In his 20’s, Beethoven began to lose his hearing but that did not stop him from composing. He wrote down the melodies that he heard inside himself and composed some of his most beautiful music when he could no longer hear at all.
His compositions are usually grouped into three periods. His first pieces were very much like Classical music. The next pieces were longer and more emotional, breaking some of the Classical rules. His last pieces were dramatic with amazing mood changes that inspired the Romantic composers who followed him. Beethoven wrote 32 piano sonatas, five piano concertos, nine symphonies, chamber music, and pieces for other instruments. He even wrote some simpler pieces for young piano students.
Beethoven was hard working, eccentric, and moody. His confidence, however, enabled him to create new musical forms that remain important today. Ludwig was also interested in equal rights for all people. For his famous Symphony No.9, he used a poem by Schiller called “Ode to Joy,” that suggests that all men should be brothers with equal freedoms. Today, people around the world consider him to be one of the musical giants of all time.
Some of Beethoven’s Pieces:
Symphony No. 9
Symphony No. 5
Piano Sonata No. 14
Listening Activity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIH9fX--1Tw